Content blocking

Some websites use trackers that can monitor your activity across the Internet. Content blocking is collection of Firefox settings that block many of these third-party trackers. It keeps your browsing more private so information about you won’t be invisibly tracked, stored, and shared between websites.

Content blocking is a collection of Firefox settings allowing you to block content that affects privacy and browsing performance. Starting in Firefox version 63, content blocking includes blocking for third-party tracking cookies and the feature previously called Tracking Protection, which blocks all detected trackers.

How to block more or fewer trackers

By default, Firefox protects you from being tracked in Private Windows using a basic list of known trackers provided by Disconnect. Firefox allows some trackers so websites function properly. You can change your settings to block trackers all the time, to block trackers from Disconnect’s strict list, or to not block any trackers at all.

Remove all protections

You can also remove all the protections offered by Content Blocking, which effectively disables the feature.

Select Custom.

Clear (deselect) the Trackers check box.

Clear (deselect) the Cookies check box.

How to detect when content blocking is on

When Firefox is blocking content on a website, a shield icon
will appear in your address bar.

Select the shield icon
or the information icon
to expand the Control Center panel.
This provides more information about the content Firefox is blocking, such as trackers or third-party tracking cookies.

The content that is blocked will depend on the website and your settings. Click on the arrows > to the right of Trackers and Cookies, to see what content has been blocked or permitted on a specific site.

Blocked content will be labeled as Blocked and greyed out.

Turn content blocking off on individual sites

The shield icon
appears in the address bar when Firefox is actively blocking content on a page. Sometimes, content blocking can prevent pages or parts of pages from loading. If content blocking interferes with your browsing, you can disable it on individual sites.

Select the shield icon
or the information icon
to expand the Control Center panel.

Click on Turn off Blocking for This Site to disable blocking for the website in a normal browsing window. If you're in a Private Window, click on Turn off Blocking Temporarily (see below).

Once Content Blocking is disabled, a shield icon with a strikethrough
will appear in your address bar.

To turn content blocking back on, expand Control Center panel by clicking the shield or the site information button
and click on Turn on Blocking for This Site.

Content Blocking in Private Browsing

Since Private Browsing doesn’t save information about your browsing session, when you disable content blocking for a site, it only lasts for your current session. When you start a new private browsing session, your content blocking settings will be restored for all sites. If you’ve disabled content blocking for a site while in a normal browsing window, Firefox will continue to disable content blocking for this same site when in a private window.

Block lists in Firefox

You can change the block list used to block trackers. By default, content blocking uses the Disconnect.me basic protection list. You can change this to use the Disconnect.me strict protection list instead.

The basic protection list blocks commonly known analytics trackers, social sharing trackers, and advertising trackers. However, the basic protection list allows some known content trackers so that fewer pages break or fail to load.

The strict protection list blocks all known trackers, including analytics trackers, social sharing trackers, and advertising trackers as well as content trackers. The strict list will break some videos, photo slideshows, and social networking features.

Change your block list

Click the menu button
.

Select Content Blocking.

Select Custom.

Click the Change block list link.

Choose the block list you want to use.

Click Save Changes.

Turn Content Blocking on or off

Content blocking includes settings for trackers and tracking cookies. By default, Firefox blocks trackers only in private windows and doesn’t block third-party tracking cookies at all. You can change your optionspreferences to block trackers all the time or to not block any content at all. You can also set your optionspreferences to block just third-party tracking cookies or all third-party cookies.

How to detect when Content Blocking is on

When Firefox is blocking content on a website, a shield
icon will appear in your address bar.

Select the information
icon or the shield
icon to expand the Control Center for the site. This provides more information about the type of content Firefox has blocked, such as detected trackers and trackers set by third-party cookies. (The Control Center is also where you manage your permission settings for this site.)

If trackers or third-party tracking cookies are not found on a site, the Control Center will display the message "No blockable content detected on this page".

Turn Content Blocking off on individual sites

Sometimes, Content Blocking can prevent pages or parts of pages from loading. If Content Blocking interferes with your browsing, you can disable it for the site you are visiting.
The shield icon appears in the address bar when Firefox is actively blocking content on a page.

Select the shield
icon or the information
icon to expand the Control Center panel.

Click the Disable Blocking for This Site button in a normal browsing window or the Disable Blocking Temporarily button in a private window (see below) to disable blocking for the website.

Once Content Blocking is disabled, a shield icon with a strikethrough will appear in your address bar.

To resume content blocking, expand the Control Center panel and select Enable Blocking For This Site.

Content Blocking in Private Browsing

Since Private Browsing doesn’t save information about your browsing session, when you disable content blocking for a site, it only lasts for your current session. When you start a new private browsing session, your content blocking settings will be restored for all sites. If you’ve disabled content blocking for a site while in a normal browsing window, Firefox will continue to disable content blocking for this same site when in a private window.

Turn Content Blocking on or off in private windows

Click the switch next to Content Blocking on the Private Browsing home page to turn it off or back on. If you don't see a Content Blocking switch, it means that you've set Firefox to always block all detected trackers for all browsing sessions (see above).

Block lists in Firefox

You can change the block list used to block trackers. By default, content blocking uses the Disconnect.me basic protection list. You can change this to use the Disconnect.me strict protection list instead.

The basic protection list blocks commonly known analytics trackers, social sharing trackers, and advertising trackers. However, the basic protection list allows some known content trackers so that fewer pages break or fail to load.

The strict protection list blocks all known trackers, including analytics trackers, social sharing trackers and advertising trackers as well as content trackers. The strict list will break some videos, photo slideshows, and social networking features.